I just posted this on SB:
http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=70118
Just in case they erase the post for "Sponsors reasons", I would like to leave a copy here:
Since I bought my first Rob Allen railgun, 3 years ago, I had nothing but good words to that manufacturer. I have ALWAYS recommended to my friends to buy their "Tuna" railguns, since they are well made, simple, powerfull, easy to handle, accurate and reasonable priced. I also changed all the shafts on my Euro guns by Rob Allen's.
But the truth must be said and since they changed the shaft plating color from black to gray/silver (and probably the supplier), the quality of that "Quatro Phase coating which ensures corrosion protection four to five times better than conventional Electrogalvanising", as they state in their web site is (way) less resistant to corrosion than the old one.
The same thing happened to a couple of friends, so I don't think my case is just casual.:(
The original shaft (black) lasted two years without mayor corrosion; just the tip and the notch that goes into the mechanism, not a big deal. The new one I changed two months ago is badly corroded all over. I wash all my gear with fresh water after each dive, let it dry in the shade and then store it in a ventilated/dry place. All my diviing gear is in great shape and I always have it ready for the action :cowboy:
I now own an Aimrite Venom, which "original" shaft is a Rob Allen and it is also starting to rust in an area it is not supossed to (in the middle of the shaft).:mad:
I don't intend to use my gear for a beauty pageant o something like that. I just want to kill fish! But when quality goes down so bad, maybe to save a few pennies on every gun, a bell must be ringed.
That is the reason I stopped buting Omer few years ago (they started to manufacture everything in China and the quality went down). I don't want to stop buying RA, but something must be done quickly to correct the poor quality of the shafts plating. For the moment, I won't buy a single shaft from Rob Allen until I see a change in the quality of their plating/galvanizing.
I know this Forums has sponsors and they take huge advantage of the Internet, but a Forum is also to discuss openly between users from all over the world. As well as they sell their products to us through this way, they must take our feedback the same way.
Sincerely,